


sixty-one ( is not just a number )

by smartbuckley



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes & Kyle Valenti Friendship, Alex Manes has an Alien Sister, Alex Manes is an Alien, Getting Together, Jesse Manes - Freeform, Liz Ortecho - Freeform, M/M, Max Evans - Freeform, Minor Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, POV Alex Manes, POV Alternating, POV Michael Guerin, Past Kidnapping, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tags Contain Spoilers, minor friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27982746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smartbuckley/pseuds/smartbuckley
Summary: “Do you ever think that the soulmarks might not be right?” Isabel asks and Alex does his best not to suck back a breath, tries even harder to not go back in time to when Michael said something incredibly similar, something said before everything went to hell and Alex had seen Michael’s mark by accident..----Everyone has a mark on their wrist of the age their soulmate is when they meet. To some people, it means everything. To others, it hurts too much.----Or, Alex and Michael are soulmates, but not together. And it isn't until a child enters their lives that things changed.
Relationships: Isabel Evans & Alex Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 17
Kudos: 71
Collections: 12 Days Of Malex 2020





	sixty-one ( is not just a number )

**Author's Note:**

> For [Alicia](https://aliciam72.tumblr.com), I hope you enjoy this story. I tried my best with it, and I hope it's everything you wanted.
> 
> Title came from my mind, oops.
> 
> Thanks to my friend Liv for the quick beta.

When humans were first created, it is said they originally were created with four arms, legs, eyes -- everything. It is believed that they were created with a whole other person attached to them, and it is said that the gods did not like that very much - that they did not like the idea of humans already having the person they were supposed to spend the rest of their lives with, already attached to them. So, the gods decided to make things harder on the humans by separating them from their other halves, their soulmates. And the creator of humans -- well, they definitely didn’t like that. They wanted their creations to have love, to go through life with the feeling of love, and because of the gods’ envy, they no longer had that opportunity. And it was something the creator couldn’t let continue.

So, they made things easier for the humans once more, by adding a tattoo to every human that showed the age of their soulmate when they met them. Sometimes, if the humans were near their soulmate, but the ages didn’t quite match up, the soulmark would burn lightly, telling a human their other half was nearby, though it had taken the humans a while to realize that that was what that had meant. And  _ sometimes _ , if the bond between two humans was particularly strong, they could hear one another’s thoughts, know when they were near, or who knows what else. It was something the creator found just too fascinating, something they wanted to see occur between every single human pair, if possible. And it worked well, the creator couldn’t help but think to themselves, a victorious grin on their face as they oversaw new soulmates finding one another day after day. Everything was going exactly like it should be, they noticed, their grin fading into something more relaxed as they looked on over the humans, and their loves, and their happiness.

Everything was going perfectly, they thought, before turning their attention towards Roswell, New Mexico, their grin fading completely as they furrowed their brow in confusion. Roswell was a different place, a place with humans and aliens and something the creator couldn’t quite explain. Something they didn’t want to explain, not completely at least. Either way, humans and aliens were living together harmoniously, despite the humans who believed otherwise, and some humans even had aliens for soulmates, which was something the creator was incredibly proud about - a way to intermingle two different species so that, at the end of the day, everyone would realize that said species wasn’t inherently bad, just had some bad apples within.

Everything was going perfectly, with humans, with aliens, with love and happiness. And then Jesse Manes walked into the creator’s peripheral, and they couldn’t help but frown, and focus completely on the man on Earth, wondering what he was up to. Jesse had gone wrong, somewhere, the creator thought, a sad frown forming on their face as they watched Jesse from above. He had found his soulmate, but he had found her too late, and his father’s actions against Jesse had just caused the Manes son to act out in ways that made him unworthy. He was too obsessed with finding out the truth about aliens and hurting them all, something the creator couldn’t stand in any human, especially one like Jesse.

But there was nothing they could do - they had interacted with the humans enough as it was, and they knew if they interacted even more within the humans’ timeline, the gods would be more than upset. It just wasn’t enough for the creator to interfere. 

They could only watch as Jesse Manes slowly made his way towards the pods, looking around the empty cave like someone would jump out at him any second. Stepping closer to the viewing screen, the creator continued frowning as they watched, becoming absorbed into everything going on at the moment ---

* * *

This was insane, Jesse thought with a growl, teeth clenched tightly as his hands curled into fists inside of the pockets of his jacket. Here he was, standing in front of god knows how many alien pods, and he wasn’t even allowed to destroy them. He wasn’t allowed to do  _ anything _ to them, and that went against his very nature. He grew up being told that aliens were monsters, that they had to be destroyed. And he didn’t disagree, but these pods had been down here for god knows how many years ( _ fifty _ , his mind supplied, unhelpfully), and nothing was being done about them. His fingers itched to curl around something, to destroy the pods and make sure none of the disgusting creatures from within escaped, but he had his orders, had to follow them to the tee. 

Looking around the cave carefully, Jesse couldn’t help but scowl as he found the tiniest pod his own father had mentioned and stepped towards it. He could feel the wind howling at his back, and a part of him still urged to  _ destroy _ , but he knew he wasn’t able to, knew if he did, all hell would break loose from his own father, something he was too old to let happen, even now. As he took a step closer, Jesse saw what his father wanted from the pod, and he couldn’t help but tilt his head, eyes widening as he realized that inside looked like a young child. He couldn’t distinguish any features, couldn’t help but feel disgust for the thing inside of the egg-like pod, though his mind started whirling with hundreds of ideas as he carefully followed his father’s instructions to crack open the pod and take the child from within, a small smirk forming on his face as he held the young thing.

He might not want aliens in his life, might want to kill them on sight, if he ever found an alien living nearby, but to Jesse Manes, there was nothing more better than taking an alien child and raising it to kill its own, he thinks, stepping away from the pods, not recognizing three of them that are currently shaking, or how the others are changing in their own ways, either.

No, for one Jesse Manes, it doesn’t matter - not with the child in his arms. Not even when he spots the number on the child’s arm, a scowl forming as he thinks in disgust that aliens should never get the opportunity to fall in love. Not when it’s just complete bullshit in the first place.

What greater victory, Jesse couldn’t help but think to himself as he walked out of the cave, missing the pods opening completely, then raising an alien as a human, raising it to hate and kill its own kind without even a second thought in the world over what it was doing. It was the perfect plan, he thinks, heading towards the rendezvous point he made with his father, heart pounding inside of his chest as he continued making plans, and, more importantly, ways to convince his wife to go through with them.

* * *

All he could feel was confusion surrounding him. He didn’t know why he had woken up in...where he had…. He didn’t know anything, and it scared him, he realized. Next to him was another boy, and a girl, and he didn’t know them, but they felt so familiar. Familiar enough that he couldn’t help but follow them where they went, and it was clear they didn’t mind him following either, clear that they recognized that he felt as familiar to them as they did to him.

“Who are we?” He can’t help but ask an unknown amount of time later. There’s no response, only the other two shrugging their shoulders, and he finds he can’t do anything with that, finds that he doesn’t mind not doing anything with that in the moment - not when he sees something heading towards them, a bright light shining into his eyes, and huh, when did it become dark out?

It’s not something he focuses on, not when there’s another -- there’s someone in front of him, asking if they’re alright. Not when he has so many questions, and he knows everyone else does too.

He doesn’t know who he is, or his age, or anything else. All he does know is that he’s with people who he’s comfortable with, people who are family, but at the same time, there’s something  _ missing _ , something he can’t quite describe. Something that’s unfathomable.

* * *

“You’re not my soulmate, Alex,” Michael whispers. It pains him to say it, pains him in ways he never thought were possible. They had just spent an amazing night together in the back shed of Alex’s yard, and Michael could only wish that Alex was his soulmate. However, the number on the inside of his wrist had sixty-one labelled, and since he had already met Alex when they were eleven -- there was just no way possible that Alex was his soulmate. It made Michael ache in ways he couldn’t describe, ways he didn’t quite want to describe, either, so he did his best to ignore the pain of saying those words caused him and Alex, ignored the phantom pain of everything he ever wanted to Alex.

“How can you---” Alex begins before Michael looks at him, causing Alex to purse his lips together and Michael is pretty sure  _ pout _ as he looks away, though he doesn’t say anything else. Michael wants to tell Alex that he wishes Alex  _ was _ his soulmate, because if anything, they feel cosmic together, but --- Alex isn’t, and there’s no point in denying Michael or Alex the truth any more than they would like.

“Alex--” Michael begins, but before he can even think about saying anything else, Alex’s dad is there, and then there’s shouting and Michael can’t stand Alex in pain, so he moves without thinking, moves and changes position, and then there’s only pain and screaming and Michael might not be soulmates with Alex, and Alex might not be his soulmate, but --

For Alex, he’d do anything. Even walk away from the other man, pain and hatred towards Jesse Manes radiating throughout him, having no idea just how much their lives will change.

* * *

Sitting at the coffee shop with an iced coffee in his hand, Alex stirs the drink as he waits for Isabel to arrive, blowing out a small huff of breath while waiting, remembering the weird dream he had the night before. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it, no matter how hard he tried to focus on it. All he could see was the bright light, and something that looked like an egg opening - almost like that one scene in  _ Power Rangers _ , he thinks with a sardonic smirk, shaking his head briefly before he looks up and grins at Isabel, who is suddenly standing in front of him and then sitting down in the chair across from him.

She looks like she has a lot to say, and Alex knows what Iz is like when she gets like that, so he only arches his eyebrow and remains silent, waiting for Iz to say whatever it is on her mind. Lately, they’ve been talking about their soulmarks, about the pain that’s been running through them 

Isabel’s pain is more important, though, Alex thinks to himself as he sips from his iced coffee before he flinches back at the thought and smiles at Iz, ignoring the penetrating stare that Isabel gives him as she drinks from her own drink.

“Everything okay?” He finds himself asking after the two of them remain silent for a few minutes. When Iz finally opens her mouth, Alex finds himself leaning forward, biting the inside of his cheek before blowing out a small huff of breath, his hand coming up to run his fingers through his hair.

“I had a dream last night, about --” Isabel stops here, and Alex finds himself blinking, wondering what it was that has one of his closest friends staying mun about --- whatever it is she had a dream about.

“I had a weird dream too, if it helps,” Alex says after a few minutes, arching his eyebrow as Isabel chuckles and looks down at the table before looking back up at him and shrugging her shoulders.

“I had a dream about Noah,” Isabel admits and Alex can feel himself freezing briefly before he moves his hand to grab at her own, squeezing it gently while frowning.

“For so long, I didn’t understand the age on my wrist,” Isabel whispers, moving her hand from Alex’s to look at the number, caressing it lightly and Alex squeezes her wrist in support, understanding, trying to share in Isabel’s pain the only way he knows how. The age on her wrist never matched the age Noah was, which Isabel had never understood, but put aside because she loved Noah, and she was sure about him. Something Iz had told Alex one night when they were drunk one night, something she hadn’t told anyone. 

And then she had learned the truth about Noah -- learned that he wasn’t who he said he was, something that Isabel couldn’t be truly mad about since she had been lying herself about who she was but Noah -- Noah’s lies were much worse because of how much longer they had gone on for, because of how much he had hurt Iz and Alex  _ hates _ him for that, wishes he had been around when Noah fucking Bracken had died so he could have done it himself for hurting Iz.

Something he never would have expected, admittedly, a few months back - but then again, Isabel being his best friend now was something he never would have expected, in general. But it was also something he couldn’t regret. Not now, and certainly not ever, not when they had weekly dates to catch up with one another, not when they knew each other’s darkest secrets.

“I ignored the age on my wrist, because I  _ loved _ Noah, and I was happy with him, even while I was lying to him,” Isabel whispers, and Alex watches as she bites her lower lip, wonders what’s going through her head.

“Did you know, apparently, I’ve already met my soulmate?” Isabel adds and Alex finds himself blinking, not having known that and not quite sure what to say to Iz in response.

“Yeah,” she chuckles, shaking her head. “Apparently we met when he was eleven,” she chuckles, and Alex can hear the self-loathing in her voice, can see her eyes beginning to water. He hates seeing her upset, hates seeing her begin to cry, so he can’t help but move forward and squeeze her hand, hoping that it will bring her back into the present, into what she was talking about before she got lost in her mind.

“What’s going through your mind, Iz?” Alex asks after a few minutes of being silent, stirring his drink as he watched Isabel carefully, biting the inside of his cheek, so curious to find out what’s going on.

“Do you ever think that the soulmarks might not be right?” Isabel asks and Alex does his best not to suck back a breath, tries even harder to not go back in time to when Michael said something incredibly similar, something said before everything went to hell and Alex had seen Michael’s mark by accident.

“There’s never been any circumstances where it’s been wrong,” Alex ends up whispering after a few minutes of silence, looking at Iz with wide eyes as she hums, takes a sip of her drink before looking away, insecurity clear in her eyes as she does so.

“But would it surprise you, Alex? If it happened to anyone, it would no doubt happen to one of us,” Isabel responds and Alex can’t stop the snort that escapes from him as he arches his eyebrow and tilts his head a little bit, conceding Isabel’s point before letting out a small huff of air and leaning forward, his elbows resting on the table.

“It would be nice, if the marks were wrong, but we know it doesn’t work like that, Iz,” Alex replies after a minute or two, looking at his best friend, heart hurting as Isabel’s eyes tear up. It’s an unconscious move, to bring his hand to hers and lock their fingers together, squeezing her hand, not making any movements when she squeezes back tightly, her hand shaking in his as she lets out a small gasp.

“I’ve made so many mistakes because of falling for Noah’s bullshit,” Isabel whispers and Alex ends up moving from the chair and dragging it so he’s sitting next to her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and bringing her in to hide into his shoulder as she continues to gasp and cry.

He knows she’s not the type of person to let anyone see her cry, especially in public, so he does his best to make sure no one pays attention to them, makes sure that he glares if someone  _ is _ looking their way so he can give Isabel the privacy she needs and deserves.

Around ten minutes later, Alex feels Isabel pull away from him, though not completely, and he hands her a napkin as she smiles at him before chuckling and shaking her head, wiping away her tears before letting out another breath.

“Can we get out of here? Maybe go to the bunker now?” Isabel asks and Alex nods, getting up and grabbing the stuff on the table that belong to him before heading towards the exit, giving Iz a few minutes to sort herself through before she ends up next to him, walking side by side, her arm looping around his as he glances towards her quickly with a small smile.

Their walk to the bunker is slow, the two of them taking in the sights of their sleepy little town, Alex feeling thankful that most people are at work right now, not in the mood to be harassed by anyone while he’s feeling relaxed and happy with Isabel right next to him.

They’re only a couple of blocks away from the bunker when Alex spots a small child walking alone on the sidewalk and he finds himself frowning, turning towards Isabel whose also frowning, eyes narrowed. Before Alex can even open his mouth to ask Isabel what’s going through her mind once more, the child - a girl - looks up and their eyes widen before she’s running towards Alex and wrapping her arms around his leg, crying. 

Frozen, Alex looks towards Isabel, eyes widening, a small scoff of disbelief escaping from him. The little girl continues to cry into Alex’s leg, looking up at him before raising her arms up and holding her hands open. Alex doesn’t -- the last time he picked up a child this small, he was still across the world, in war, and he did it without thinking, knowing that if he hadn’t, the child wouldn’t end up alive at the end of the day.

“I think she wants you to pick her up,” Isabel says, and Alex can hear the smirk in her voice, and he looks at her with a roll of his eyes before letting out a soft sigh and leaning down slowly to pick up the little girl, a frown on his face as she sniffles into his shoulder and wraps her arms around her neck.

“Alright, we might as well finish getting to the bunker before anyone notices I’m suddenly carrying a child that’s...very young,” Alex says with a chuckle while Isabel hums, and they continue walking. They make light conversation as they continue the walk, Alex shifting more than before because he has to adjust to holding an extra weight with his leg, cringing a little as more and more pain radiates through him with each step.

“Do you want me to take her for a little bit?” Isabel asks and Alex finds himself blowing out a breath, pausing briefly. They’re still about a block away from the bunker, and Alex would normally be able to handle that, but with the stairs going down, he’s not sure he can, so he nods his head and slowly adjusts his grip on the little girl so that it’s easier for Iz to grab her from him. The moment Isabel has her hands on the girl though and she tries to lift her from Alex’s arms, the little girl whines, the whines getting louder the longer Isabel tries.

After a few minutes, Alex finds himself letting out a sigh before he shrugs his shoulders.

“Let’s just get to the bunker and figure shit out there. Think you can help me down the steps when we get there?” He asks, smiling when Isabel gives him a look.

“Duh,” she teases, and Alex finds himself laughing, the duo continuing to walk to the bunker, conversation flowing between them, alongside laughter and soft nudges until they get there, Isabel helping Alex down while the little girl finally lifts her head from Alex’s shoulders and looks around, though she doesn’t let go of him completely.

“Think you should call Kyle and Michael, get them down here,” Alex whispers after a few minutes, carefully sitting on one of the tables with the girl in his arms, shifting her around so she’s resting on his lap, eyes blearily looking around the room of the bunker, a small frown on her face as Isabel calls Kyle and Michael, and the two wait, though Alex has no idea for what.

* * *

Michael is sitting in the back of his truck, legs crossed in front of him with Max, a beer being passed between them when he feels his phone vibrate in the pocket of his jeans. He’s too lazy to move slightly to get his phone from the pocket, so he ends up just closing his eyes momentarily and taking a deep breath before sipping from the bottle Max passes to him. They’re not talking to one another currently, just basking in the warmth of the sun, even though Christmas is around the corner.

When his phone vibrates once more, he can’t help but let out a groan of frustration, slowly moving to sit up as his hand goes to his back pocket, fishes out his phone before he frowns when he notices it’s Isabel calling him. He knows that Isabel is having lunch with Alex, something that has a pang of  _ hurt _ going through Michael’s hurt, something he does his best to shove away as he wonders why she’s calling him, knowing that they usually spend a couple of hours together.

Is Alex hurt, he thinks, biting his lower lip in thought before he blinks, knowing that if Alex was hurt, she’d be calling for an ambulance, not Michael. He wants to scoff at himself, but before he can even do so, Max nudges him.

“You’ll never know why she’s calling instead of having lunch with your soulmate unless you pick the phone up,” Max says and Michael scowls at his brother, shaking his head at the term. It’s something Max has always done, called Alex his soulmate even though it’s  _ not _ possible, and Michael has said that to Max numerous times already.

“Just answer the phone, Michael,” Max groans and Michael scowls over towards Max before hitting the accept button and then speaker.

“What’s up, Iz?” He asks, chewing his lower lip, knowing he’s going to regret it later on.

“We need you to get to the Bunker. Something’s happened, and -- you and Valenti could help,” Isabel says and Michael finds himself frowning.

“Is Alex--”

“Everyone’s fine. We’ve just got a visitor here that we need help with,” Isabel says and Michael finds himself relaxing a little, looking towards Max before nodding.

“You cool with Max coming along?” He asks, just to make sure, smiling when Isabel tsks before confirming in the positive. The two of them quickly finish the beer they were passing between them before heading towards the front of the truck, Michael getting into the driver’s seat with a soft sigh before starting his truck.

* * *

Within thirty minutes, Michael and Max have arrived at the parking lot close to the bunker and are making their way down, doing their best to not look suspicious. Michael has sobered up - though he wasn’t all that drunk to begin with - but his heart is pounding inside of his chest as he glances at his soulmark briefly, doing his best to not frown at the reminder that Alex isn’t his soulmate. He remembers the night they had spent together, remembers how  _ positive _ Michael was that Alex was his soulmate, even though the age didn’t match up.

But the age didn’t match up, and Michael wasn’t brave enough to truly try and make it work with him despite that, not like Isabel was with Noah, and look at how that had ended, he thinks as he steps towards the door of the bunker and then heads down the steps, stopping suddenly when he sees Alex sitting with a  _ child _ in his arms.

A little girl, from the looks of it, and Michael can’t help but find himself taking a step back with wide eyes, gulping. His heart pounds inside of his chest and all Michael really wants to do is take a step towards Alex and wrap his arms around him, go home with Alex and a little girl of their own and Michael has to take a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and looking for Isabel, rolling his eyes when he finds her staring at him with a smirk on her face.

“What’s going on?” Max asks after a few minutes, but Michael looks towards Alex when he shakes his head.

“We’re still waiting on Kyle. Don’t want to repeat the information more than once,” he responds after a few minutes, shrugging his shoulders, not looking at Michael’s eyes, something that has Michael frowning.

Michael stays quiet though, watching Alex with the little girl in his arms, watching the little girl look around the room, though she shies away when her eyes meet Michaels. She looks so familiar, Michael thinks, a small frown on his face as he tries to figure out who she looks like. She’s got long brown hair, and brown eyes that look --- eerily familiar. Her features are small, and Michael has no idea why she looks so familiar. 

But she does, and it terrifies him.

Michael doesn’t know how long it’s been when Valenti finally arrives, stopping next to him and staring at Alex exactly like how Michael did, though there’s a small smile on his face as he steps towards Alex and Alex  _ lets _ him.

“What’s going on?” Valenti asks and Michael turns towards Alex and then Isabel with a frown, anticipating the response, though what he hears surprises him.

* * *

A little while later, Michael finds himself looking at the little girl as Valenti carefully takes her information, Isabel standing next to him. She whines whenever Valenti steps near her, flat out sobs and screams when they try to remove her from Alex, something Michael found endearing and annoying all at the same time.

“Why did you never ignore the age on your wrist?” Isabel asks and Michael turns towards her, blinking, surprised, opening and closing his mouth before narrowing his eyes before looking away.

“Why do you want to know?” He asks in response, and he can feel Isabel let out a sigh next to him, turning back towards her with a frown on his face.

“Alex and I were talking about it - earlier.” Isabel begins, slowly, like she’s testing her words, and Michael finds himself frowning, not quite sure how to feel about that. “I -- I’ve been thinking a lot about how Noah fucked me over, and how I was so positive that the mark meant nothing in comparison to my own feelings…” Isabel adds and he finds himself stepping closer to her, nudging her lightly, not liking how sad she looks next to him. It’s not the Isabel he knows and loves - strong, sure, a spitfire, mainly.

“Whereas, with you, you’re so positive that the mark means  _ something _ , despite your feelings for Alex,” Isabel adds and Michael finds himself sucking back a breath, eyes widening, heart pounding inside of his chest as he tries to think of a way to respond. While Iz is right, he hates how open that makes him feel, hates how true it is -- hates how it sounds like Isabel is silently judging him for that.

Letting out a soft sigh, Michael turns towards Isabel completely, jumping up on one of the tables to sit on it before shrugging his shoulders. “There’s a lot to unpack in my mind, Isabel,” he says ignoring the way Isabel looks at him.

“And I can go into people’s minds,” she grumbles at him, but before he can respond to that, the little girl begins screaming, and within seconds of her screaming, her hand is coming out, palm open and Valenti is pushed back into the wall, even though she didn’t even  _ touch _ him. Turning to look at Isabel, Max stepping closer with wide eyes, the three of them walk towards the little girl slowly and carefully, Michael using some of his own powers to show he’s similar to her.

“Hi sweetie, I’m Isabel. These are my brothers, Michael and Max. Can we help you get more comfortable?” Isabel asks, her voice low as the little girl looks at Isabel with narrowed eyes before she shakes her head. Alex looks at the girl with wide eyes, and Michael can see him biting the inside of his cheek, knows it’s a nervous habit, knows that like he knows so many other intimate details about Alex.

“Do you want something to distract you while Valenti takes your information?” Michael ends up asking, leaning down so he’s closer to the girl’s height. She eyes him wearily, bites the inside of her cheek and god, does it remind him of Alex, especially with how quick she’s picked it up from him no doubt.

After a few minutes of waiting, the little girl nods her head and Michael manages to procure a ball from -- well, he doesn’t know where it’s from, but it was in the bunker, and that’s what’s important, as he hands it to her and she takes it carefully before she squeezes it, and Michael finds himself relaxing. Eventually, Valenti manages to stand up and step closer to her, though he’s a little hesitant and Michael could understand that, even if he wasn’t a big fan of Valenti.

He continues to watch Valenti as he takes vitals, writes something down, and then frowns, and it goes like that for a few minutes, Michael getting more and more tense. More time continues to pass before Michael eventually slumps and steps away, turning towards Max, who is looking at his phone, clearly bored, legs swinging from the table he’s sitting on.

“You don’t have to stay here, you know.” He says, ignoring the way Max snorts.

“You drove me here, man. I’m not leaving you without a car,” Max teases and Michael chuckles, shaking his head as he sits next to Max on the table, the two of them not really talking and just watching, waiting, wondering what’s going to come next.

* * *

It’s a little while later when Michael stops talking to Max after hearing Alex suck back a breath, and he finds himself frowning before realizing that Isabel is looking at the little girl, face relaxed though her lips are pursed, eyes narrowing a little bit as the minutes pass. Michael can't help but notice how focused Isabel is on the little girl, and he wonders what Isabel is seeing right now in the girl’s mind - finds himself taking a step forward before feeling Max’s fingers in his shirt, pulling him back as he frowns softly.

A few minutes later, Isabel is gasping, her hand going to her chest and her eyes widening as the little girl smiles at her, and Michael can’t help but wonder what Isabel saw even more now than before, if the view was something that could help them figure out who the hell the little girl is and what the hell is going on.

“Iz…” Alex says, and Michael’s eyes go to him immediately, take him in. Michael finds himself biting his lip, the urge to sit next to Michael at an all time high, and his heart briefly soars when Alex turns towards him, eyes narrowing a little before he looks back at Isabel, and Michael knows Alex is feeling confused about something, knows like he knows the back of his hand.

“Her name is Clara,” Isabel interrupts Alex with a small smirk and Michael finds himself blinking for a few seconds before he turns towards the little girl with a hum, stepping towards her slowly, his hand out, letting out a small relieved breath when he’s allowed to place his hand on her head, a small smile forming on her face.

“I’m not going to ask how you figured that out,” Michael mutters, though he notices Isabel rolls her eyes at him and Valenti arches his eyebrow at him simultaneously. Ignoring that, he finds himself running his fingers through Clara’s hair for a few minutes, doing his best to avoid the way Alex is looking at him.

“Are you hungry, by chance?” He can’t help but ask, unable to stop the smile from forming when Clara nods, her hands wrapping around Alex’s neck for a few minutes before she looks at Michael completely.

“Alright, I’m going to look for some food for you, yeah?” Michael says, his voice low while Valenti snorts in the background, before Michael heads towards the larger portion of the bunker that most people tend to eat at, when they’re around, searching through the cabinets, looking for something.

* * *

Alex finds himself shifting Clara in his lap, starting to feel uncomfortable, though knowing he won’t be able to put her down anytime soon, the way she whimpers causing a sharp pain to go through him with each time it happens. He watches Michael out of the corner of his eye, biting the inside of his cheek before he notices Isabel making her way over to him, and finds himself watching her instead, arching his eyebrow as he does so.

“Maybe Kyle should look through the files, see if he can find anything about the little one?” Isabel suggests when she finally arrives, and Alex would be an idiot if he thought it was a plan worth disagreeing with, so he finds himself looking towards Kyle, who nods before sitting down at one of the computer stations. Max joins him a minute later, which Alex finds himself grateful for, since he feels awkward around Max, never having really spent much time around the elder Evans, even when he was with Michael.

Plus, he’s pretty sure Kyle could use the help shifting through who knows how many files that are on the computer systems, Alex thinks to himself with a chuckle, wishing he could be the one helping just so it could go faster, but knowing he can’t because of Clara.

“Why do you think she won’t let go of you?” Alex hears Isabel ask and he finds himself turning towards Clara with a frown before looking back at his best friend, a brief sigh escaping from him as a bunch of different thoughts course through his mind.

“I don’t really have any idea why. Did you see something when you were in her mindscape?” Alex asks and he can see the way Isabel frowns, can see how she attempts to recall what she saw before shaking her head, shoulders slumping.

“I could recognize feelings, caught brief glimpses of her on a ship, but other than that, I only ever saw what she wanted me to see,” Isabel admits and Alex finds himself frowning even more at that statement, shoulders slumping forward as he closes his eyes briefly to take a deep breath, doing his best not to be disappointed. 

So far, they only know two things about Clara - her name, and that she’s an alien, and Alex hopes they figure out something soon, because otherwise, Alex just might have to take Clara home, and who knows how she’d react to the outside world, especially if he had to leave.

“Guys, we’ve found something,” Alex hears, and his eyes snap open before he turns towards Kyle and Max, getting off the table carefully with Iz’s help before he, Isabel and Michael find themselves making their way towards the computers, something akin to hope forming inside of Alex’s chest.

* * *

“What was it you guys found?” Alex asks after a minute of looking at the screen, frowning as he takes in all of the files. They’re organized by the year, from the looks of it, but when Kyle goes to open it, he gets asked for a password, and that --- that is interesting, Alex thinks with a frown.

“Switch spots with me?’ He asks Kyle, grinning when Kyle gets up without a second thought and Alex takes his place, adjusting Clara so that he can still access the computer without her getting completely in the way, something she must understand without him having to even say anything about it. He’s in awe for a few minutes before he exits out of the password box, takes in all of the files and frowns.

“Should I try 1997, since that’s the year you guys broke out?” Alex asks after a few minutes, but no one answers and suddenly, he finds himself moving his mouse towards 1990, a frown on his face.

“Interesting choice, but I guess I’ll go with the gut instinct,” he mutters, Kyle snorting behind him as Isabel hums and Clara shifts, causing him to arch one of his eyebrows at her, feeling surprised when he notices Clara already looking at him with a small smile on her own face. Clicking on the file, the password box pops up once more and Alex takes a few minutes to stare at it before he begins attempting to guess the password from the previous files he’s already hacked, everyone slowly dispersing as time moves forward. He doesn’t know how much time passes before he’s shouting in accomplishment, everyone coming back to stand behind him or sit down next to him - Michael, hilariously enough - as he looks over the opened file.

“It looks like it’s all just video files,” Alex responds with a frown, planning to exit out of the file, not sure why he feels disappointed in the results.

“Isn’t that your dad on one of the preview images?” Max asks, leaning forward to take a closer look and Alex turns to look at him with a frown before turning to look back at the screen, eyes widening when he finds out it is  _ his _ father, and that the image has him holding a small bundle in his arms.

“What the fuck?” He hears Iz mutter, and his eyes narrow as he double clicks on the file, notices it’s the date of his birthday, his heart beginning to pound. When the file begins to play, Alex finds himself sitting back in the chair, shoulders relaxing while Michael places his knee against his own, a spark shooting through Alex at the touch, though he smiles gratefully towards Michael for a moment before viewing the video, eyes widening when he sees his Dad go into a cave empty handed, look at the pods, missing three that have cracked, and then come out with a damn baby.

“Maybe Clara’s the baby?” Michael says, and Isabel hums while Alex shakes his head.

“If she was the baby, she’d be older by now,  _ and _ , where would she have been this entire time?” Kyle responds, everyone else nodding as the video continues to play with Jesse Manes getting into the car he left at the caves before driving away, the video showing static. Alex, figuring the video was done, is about to exit the window before the static disappears and he spots his Dad in the bunker they’re currently in.

“Turn the volume up, man,” Kyle says and Alex does so quickly, frowning as his Dad’s voice comes through the two speakers Kyle and he had found when they first set the place up.

_ “What exactly are you planning on doing with a baby alien, Manes?” _

_ “Something brilliant, Corp. Raising it, and raising it so that it hates its own kind, kills its own kind---”  _ Alex feels himself suck back a breath, his body tense. Briefly, he hears Michel let out a small noise, but he doesn’t focus on that, can’t focus on anything other than the fact that one of his brothers is an alien, and has been a killing machine of them probably --- for too long.

_ “You’re right, that is pretty brilliant. You’re going to have to name the kid, though,” The other man on the screen says, a smirk forming on their face while Jesse Manes looks down at the bundle in his arms with a frown. _

_ “Well, how about Alex?” Jesse replies and _ \---

Alex can’t breath. Alex can’t breath, because he just saw his Dad holding a baby and decide to give it  _ his _ name, which means that baby was  _ him _ , which means Jesse Manes kidnapped him and he’s not actually a Manes, he’s an alien and --- he’s aware, somewhat, that a few lights hanging above in the kitchen have shattered, but Alex can’t focus because his entire world has just been turned upside down and --

“Alex, breathe. I need you to breathe, baby,” He hears Michael say, can feel Michael’s hands on his neck, tilting his head up, but Alex ---

Letting out a small whimper, Alex finds himself leaning forward, his head resting on Michael’s shoulder. He can feel Michael’s fingers running through his hair, can even feel Isabel rubbing Alex’s back and for a few minutes, he takes in the comfort before sitting up and letting out a sigh, frowning at the screen before turning away from it.

“So….” Kyle says after a minute and Alex can’t help the delirious laugh that escapes him, his hand coming up to rub at his face, feeling more than exhausted.

“This changes….a lot,” Max adds and Alex snorts, shaking his head briefly before looking around the room, not quite sure what to say or how to feel. Max is right, of course he is, because a lot of things are suddenly making sense - like the fact that he was the only one who was ever abused, because he wasn’t actually his father’s son, and had no interest in ever listening to his father, who wanted him to be trained young.

“Maybe hacking is part of your power,” Kyle says and Alex finds himself turning towards one of his best friends with wide eyes, still not --

“I don’t have a power,” he says, shaking his head. Briefly, he can feel Michael sigh and feels guilty, but then turns back towards the computer screen and hits play, needing to know what else was said.

_ “How do you think this will affect his soulmark?” The other man asks, having stepped forward and peered at the baby, his face coming in clear to show it’s Jim Valenti. _

_ “Like monsters would have a soulmark,” Jesse Manes scoffs, not noticing the way Jim arches one of his eyebrows. _

_ “This one does. A 61,” he replies, whistling softly with a shake of his head _ .

The tape goes black, and Alex can’t stop himself from letting out a groan as everyone turns to look at him. Without a second thought, since everyone apparently already knows, Alex rolls up the sleeve of his shirt, displaying the number written on the inside of his wrist with a small scowl, feeling uncomfortable as Michael’s eyes widen and he steps closer.

“It’s the same number as mine,” Michael whispers and Alex turns to look at Michael in confusion, eyes widening when Kyle hums.

“You guys spent fifty years in a pod, right?” Kyle asks, and Michael nods a frown on his face.

“From what we’ve gathered with aliens, the number appears to begin counting the moment your pod opens, even if you don’t leave it right as it opens,” Kyle adds, Alex chewing on his lower lip with wide eyes, his heart pounding.

“Manes took me from a pod seven years before you guys. But --- your pods were opened a little bit when he walked by them in the video,” Alex interrupts, leg shaking, moving, energy coursing through Alex.

“And we met when we were eleven,” Michael adds, eyes widening. “If the pods were opened after touchdown at fifty years, and we met when we were eleven --- the number would be…”

“Sixty-one,” Alex finishes for Michael, turning to look at him, eyes wide.

* * *

“We’ve been kicked out of the bunker,” Alex says thirty minutes later, biting the inside of his cheek while adjusting his hold on Clara, taking in a deep breath then releasing it to look at Michael. After they realized what the sixty-one on their arms meant, they had remained quiet, unable to really say anything, more than likely afraid, until Kyle and Isabel had both let out a sigh and shoved them out of the bunker, suggesting they go get dinner for everyone.

“We should probably go and get some food for everyone - especially since I never did find something for Clara to eat,” Michael responds, a small smile forming, which only grows when Clara removes her arms from around Alex’s neck, and leans away from him, turning towards Michael and asking silently to be held by him instead. Michael and Alex look at one another in surprise before Alex watches Michael take Clara and hold her. The loss of Clara’s weight is a welcome one, one that has Alex moaning in happiness briefly before turning red when he spots Michael smirking at him.

“Shut up,” he groans, moving to walk towards Michael’s truck before jumping into the driver’s seat, knowing that Michael will continue to hold Clara throughout, being proved right when he manages to get into his truck with Clara on his hip before holding her on his lap, buckling the seatbelt around them both. Unable to stop himself from melting at the sight, Alex kept looking at the two of them before Michael turned to him and, seeing Alex staring, rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Start driving, Alex, or we’ll never get food for everyone,” Michael says, laughing, while Alex responds in kind and starts driving the truck to the Crashdown to pick up some food for everyone, Michael calling the order in ahead of time so Liz isn’t overwhelmed.

When they arrive at the Crashdown a little bit later, Alex stops the truck with a sigh, looking at Michael out of the corner of his eyes before turning towards the other man, a million thoughts running through his mind.

“We’re soulmates,” Alex says, ignoring the way Michael’s eyes widen and he nods, letting out a small chuckle.

“We are soulmates,” Michael confirms and Alex finds himself smiling at the grin on Michael’s face.

“I’m an alien,” Alex adds, a chuckle escaping from him, still clearly in disbelief while Michael’s grin softens.

“You know I’ll help you through it, right?” Michael asks, his hand moving to rest on Alex’s shoulder, squeezing it gently while Alex nods, opening his mouth before a knock on his window has him jumping in surprise, turning towards a grinning Liz.

“I saw you arrive and when you didn’t leave the truck immediately, I figured I’d bring your order out to you,” Liz chuckles when Alex finally has the window down, and Alex can’t help but smile, grabbing the food while handing it to Michael, who arranges it carefully by his feet.

“And Max texted me, telling me you’d be coming by before the order was even in, so I knew well ahead of time,” she adds and Alex can’t help but stare at Liz with the smile on his face, shaking his head fondly at her. They haven’t been close - not since, well, a lot that had happened, but they were getting there, slowly, and Alex could admit he kind of missed the way Liz rambled with him.

“Anyways, that’s the food you ordered, and Max already paid for it with his credit card that I had on me, so you’re good to go,” Liz finishes with a grin and Alex lets out a chuckle, thankful that he didn’t have to get out of the truck and get back in since his leg had been bothering him a bit.

“Thanks, Liz. I’ll call you later, alright? There’s a lot we need to catch up on,” Alex admits with a sigh while Liz nods with her own smile before she steps back and waves, Alex starting the truck up and backing out while Michael hums. The drive back to the bunker is quick, Michael and Alex both talking throughout it, Alex trying to figure out what happens next in his life until he’s parking Michael’s truck and turning towards Michael, leaning forward and kissing him, thankful that Michael had already been turned towards Alex at the moment.

Alex finds himself getting lost in the kiss, his hands coming up to rest on the side of Michael’s face as Michael leans towards him, grunting when he reaches the console in the middle of his truck, which soon turns towards a groan when he hears Clara giggle, the two of them pulling away, though not very far, turning towards the little girl who is still on Michael’s lap, watching them with shiny eyes, and then the door to Michael’s side is opening, showing Kyle and Isabel on the other side, Alex letting out a soft groan when he realizes Isabel is smirking, which means they saw everything.

“We found more information on Clara that we think you should see,” Kyle says while he grabs the food, and Alex watches as Michael turns towards him with an arch of his eyebrow.

“Like what?” 

“Like the fact that we’re pretty sure she’s Alex’s sister,” Kyle adds with a smirk, and Alex ---- Alex feels everything in him drop and rise all at once before he’s getting out of the truck, heading towards the bunker with a slight limp.

* * *

“Alright, what makes you say you think she’s my sister?” Alex asks, his arms full of Clara now that they’ve eaten. She wanted to return to him immediately upon getting inside of the bunker, and Alex doesn’t quite understand why, though it would make sense if it was because they were family.

“We were looking at other videos, and the team had gone back to the caves quite a few times, right? And we noticed that next to your pod--” Kyle pauses here, shaking his head, “Still not used to that,” he says with a smirk while Alex chuckles, before he continues, “Next to your pod, was another pod. Smaller. And with each video we saw, we saw the image become more and more clear. Clara was in the pod,” Kyle adds, and Alex frowns.

“But why does that make you think she’s my sister?” Alex finds himself asking, a frown on his face while he shifts his hold onto Clara, moving her a little.

“I lied - when I said Clara only showed me her name. She showed me memories, too. Of her and her brother. And I didn't understand at first, because the brother was kind of blurred out,” Isabel begins and Alex finds himself arching his eyebrow, turning towards Iz.

“But then after we learned you were kidnapped by Jesse, I went through the memories again, and they showed  _ you _ , Alex,” Isabel says and Alex turns towards Clara, in his arms, and finds himself biting the inside of his cheek as she looks at him from his shoulder.

“It makes sense,” Michael says, stepping close, arms wrapping around Alex’s hips, goosebumps forming on Alex’s arms at the touch. “When I first saw you two, I couldn’t help but think about how much Clara reminded me of you, Alex,” Michael adds and Alex finds himself letting out a breath, turning towards Clara, biting his lower lip now.

“Am I your brother?” He asks, eyes widening when Clara nods, heart racing as he gets the confirmation he wasn’t sure he wanted.

* * *

Later that night finds Alex sitting on his couch with Clara asleep next to him, and Michael on his other side,  _ Arthur Christmas _ playing in the background. He’s tired, so damn tired, but every time he realizes his eyes are closed, he jolts himself awake, ignoring the way Michael huffs and chuckles, his fingers running through Alex’s hair as if to convince him it’s alright to fall asleep on Michael’s lap.

“It is alright, you know,” Michael whispers, and he finds himself letting out a groan, rubbing his eyes tiredly. That’s something, Alex realized rather quickly, that was one of his powers - allowing people he’s touching to read his thoughts. He’s not quite sure how to feel about it - or how to control it, but with Michael, he finds he’s not too mad at it, either, because thinking of what he wants to say is so much more easier than saying it and fucking it up.

“You could not --”

“We both know I could,” Alex interrupts with a chuckle, shifting a little on the couch to stare up at Michael. When Michael concedes to the point, Alex smiles before leaning up to kiss Michael, the kiss slow and steady, Alex letting Michael know everything he’s feeling in the moment before he eventually leans away.

He doesn’t go far though, Michael holding onto him, and Alex unable to look away. Unwilling to look away.

“You know I’ll help, right? That I’m not ever letting you go again?” Michael asks and Alex nods, knowing Michael is telling him the truth in the moment, knowing that they’ll never be able to spend time apart again, not now, not when they know they’re truly soulmates.

“What are you going to do about Clara?” Michaels asks, and Alex finds himself turning slightly to take a look at her before turning to look back at Michael.

“I don’t know who my real parents are. Don’t know if they’re alive. And she can’t speak, not yet, even though Isabel says she’ll try to help out by taking me into her mindscape.” Alex begins, biting the inside of his cheek before blowing out a soft breath.

“I would feel too guilty if I just left her to fend for herself, especially with how young she seems. So, I’ll -- change things up here, make things easier, take care of her--” Alex responds with a shrug, though he feels completely panicked over the fact that he’s essentially going to become a single parent.

“No.” Michael whispers and Alex finds himself frowning, tilting his head a little bit.

“I’ll be there with you, by your side. She’ll have you and me raising her. You’ll have me helping you,” Michael responds and Alex smiles, leaning forward to kiss Michael once more, his hands coming up to wrap around Michael’s neck, his legs becoming entangled with Michaels as they continue to kiss before eventually, they break away when they hear giggling.

“Thank you,” Alex whispers before turning towards Clara with another smile. “How about we get you somewhere comfortable for bed, yeah?” He says, sitting up, arms wrapping around Clara’s frame as she crawls towards him before resting her head on his shoulder. With Michael’s help, he gets up from the couch and up the stairs, and the two put Clara to bed before doing their own thing, until they lay down on opposite sides of Clara, grins on their faces.

“I love you,” Alex thinks, ignoring the way his heart flutters inside of his chest when Michael mouths the words back to him, before they both eventually fall asleep, their hands entwined above Clara’s head, well into the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Comments are loved, appreciated and always responded to. I might make this a series, who knows. If I missed any tags, please let me know. And if the whole, soulmark thing was confusing, you can also let me know lol. Come yell at me on my [tumblr](https://smartevanbuckley.tumblr.com).


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